6 Step 4: Determine Access
At this point in the editing process, you’ll want to decide where and in what format students can access your revised open textbook.
Students appreciate having textbooks available in multiple formats, so that they can choose what works best for them. Some students prefer reading a printed version; others prefer reading online. Still others prefer using an e-reader. Offering multiple formats means your content is more accessible. (See Step 2 for format types.)
If you produce multiple formats, remember that what works well in one format may not work well in another. For example, students who use print copies of your textbook need QR codes or short URLs to access content that students who read online can simply click on.
Regardless of the formats you produce, you need a stable place to keep your textbook so that students can access it. Options include distributing the open textbook via your:
- Institutional repository
- Learning management system (LMS)
- Personal website
- Campus bookstore
Accessibility
Offering multiple formats of your open textbook is a key way to ensure greater access to it.
Campus communities can consult with their disability resource centers for guidance and assistance. Disability resource centers commonly facilitate student accommodations by ensuring access to:
- Portable electronic and large-type textbooks for people with mobility limitations or low vision.
- Read-aloud files for text-to-speech software for people with learning disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, or others who may benefit from listening to an audio text.
- Tagged texts, images, and tables to enable screen-reader navigation for people who are blind or low-vision. Tactile graphics and braille are also useful.
The EPUB format is often considered the most accessible for screen-reading software.
Three ways to improve accessibility of your open textbook:
- Ensure that digital text is machine-readable.
- Tag navigation elements, including headings and subheadings.
- Tag and describe images and tables.
If you have questions about open textbook accessibility, contact your disability resource center. You can also consult the DAISY Consortium’s guide to Making Publications Accessible for All and the International Digital Publishing Forum’s EPUB 3 Accessibility Guidelines.
Testing and Generating Accessible Formats
If you want to test the accessibility of your open textbook, or convert your textbook into different formats, there are online tools you can use.
NonVisual Desktop Access: Free screen reader that enables user testing. It’s an open source, Windows-based software available in more than 40 languages.
PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC 2): Free program displays a PDF preview in a web browser. The PAC preview shows PDF tags and presents the accessible elements as they’d be interpreted by assistive technologies. PAC also provides an accessibility report, which lists the detected accessibility errors.
DAISY Consortium’s Pipeline Download: Cr